Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen... @ The Royal Festival Hall

Last night I sat through a spellbinding performance of Spiritualized masterpiece Ladies & Gentlemen We are Floating in Space. I wasn't really too sure what to expect - I di love the album but wasn't entirely sure that the live setting and the chosen venue would work. I like the Royal Festival Hall but wasn't entirely sure that it was the perfect setting for Ladies & Gentlemen (although I'd pick it over the Barbican which is the other venue that this show will appear at). My fears however were pretty much allayed from the get go.

Jason sitting on the right-hand side of the stage (obscured completely by the large headed chap in front of me) was accompanied by... two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a percussionist, an eight piece string section, brass, saxophones, and a gospel choir... oh and a light show.

Highlights, in an evening of highs, was the phenomenal ten minute (no idea how long really... it might have been much longer... I was lost!) Electricity blow out with hypnotic noise and strobing lights. Cool Waves was awesome and the Cop Shoot Cop finale was perfect, particularly when the choir came in to pull it back in line.

They encored with Out of Sight (from Let it Come Down) - and it was all over. I'd have preferred a standing venue... something a bit more "rock" but otehrwise I have no complaints. This was a very special evening.

The most weird part of the evening however was being tapped on the shoulder by the guy sitting next to me who then said... "are you Andy?" - I mean the whole of the RFH and I'm sitting next to Dan from the Galaxie 500 Mailing List (and he recognised me!). I'd never met him before, and I'm not very good at spontaneous social interaction (actually any social interaction) but it was definitely cool to have a chat (albeit a brief and stilted one) with a listee.

Cycle home mostly uneventful (it was the cyclist in front of me who so nearly got killed by a taxi in Knightsbridge).